Japanese car manufacturer Honda has strengthened its ties with F1 teams Red Bull and AlphaTauri ahead of their first home F1 race since 2019, and their logo will return to F1 cars and remain on them after the Japanese Grand Prix.
Honda formally withdrew from Formula 1 at the end of last season, but Red Bull teams continued to use their power units under the name Red Bull Powertrains, a newly formed company that will develop a new generation of F1 powertrains from 2026.
This year, Red Bull’s and AlphaTauri’s cars wore the HRC (Honda Racing Corporation) logo, and in order to strengthen their cooperation from the Japanese Grand Prix, the cars will also wear the Honda logo with some additional partnership elements.
Perez will be in the role of ambassador in Honda’s driving academy and in November of this year he will give the first lessons to HRS (Honda Racing School) students, and for the HRC Thanks Day, which will be held on November 27, all four Red Bull F1 drivers will be present teams, including Yuki Tsunoda from Japan.
“Oracle Red Bull Racing and Honda Racing Corporation have achieved great success in Formula One together,” said Helmut Marko, Red Bull motorsport advisor.
“With these new agreements, we are proud to continue going from strength to strength with the technical support from HRC until the next generation of engines are introduced in 2026. We are confident this relationship with HRC will set us up for more success in the future and thank them for their ongoing support.”
“Honda has invested significantly in hybrid technology over the course of our partnership,” added Christian Horner, Red Bull F1 Team Principal.
“This has ensured the supply of competitive power units to both teams, for which we are very grateful. Our combined goal is to continue to deliver dominant engines and achieve the most success possible in the following three years. To mark this, we look forward to welcoming the Honda logo back on to the car from Suzuka onwards.”
“The HRC logo on the nose and Honda logo on the side of the race machines of both teams represent the strong ties between Honda and Red Bull Group,” said Koji Watanabe, Head of Corporate Communications Supervisory Unit, Honda Motor Co., Ltd. and President of Honda Racing Corporation.
“Through the technical support provided by HRC, Honda will fully support the challenges those machines take on to become the ‘fastest in the world’.”
“We are very pleased that these machines will be unveiled at the F1 Japanese Grand Prix, where Honda serves as the title sponsor. Please root for the two Red Bull Group teams which compete with power units loaded with Honda technologies.”
